Page 75 of Midnights
She turns up the music while I go through the motions of getting ready, but really I’m just trying to wrangle my brain while towel-drying my curls into submission.
Rachel bounces out of the room, shutting the door behind her, and I slip back into my pajamas, while I finish doing my hair.
When I’m done, I wander into the kitchen, scrolling through my phone. My heart sinks just a touch when I don’t see anything from Kane. Just work stuff and the usual garbage texts from Chance.
Ugh.
I don’t even bother opening them. The last five are the same regurgitatedI still love you, please call menonsense. I amnotdiving into thatmess right now. We are never getting back together. Like, ever. I should honestly just block him, now that I’m thinking about it.
I’m so distracted trying to block Chance, that I barely register a cough. A very male cough. I freeze, my pulse stuttering as my head snaps up.
Kane is casually sitting on the couch like he owns the damn place. And of course, this would be the moment I choose to parade around in the least amount of clothing possible.
Internally, I scream.
Externally, I remain frozen, staring at him like an idiot.
He licks his lips.Licks. His. Fucking. Lips.Then coughs again, like he knows exactly what’s going through my head.
I despise him… and I really wish I was wearing a snowsuit right now.
I scramble to recover, forcing my spine straight and plastering on a forced, unimpressed smile. “You really should get that cough checked out.”
His eyes flick back to mine, like I just snapped him out of something. His expression shifts so quickly that, for a split second, I wonder if I imagined the whole thing.
“Morning, Princess.”
His voice is deep and rough. And entirely too smug for my liking.
I hate that my body reacts before my brain does. My stomach dips and my pulse kicks up, and I swear I feel heat bloom across my entire body. I’m wet instantly.
I force an awkward wave. “Uhh, hi.”
Real smooth, Raven. ABORT.
I turn to go flee back into the bedroom, because clearly, I need to put on some damn clothes and take another cold shower. But before I can take another step, his voice stops me.
“What happened to your arm?”
I pause mid-step.
Something in his tone makes me turn around. It's not the same lazy rasp from a second ago. This is different. It’s edged with something cold.
I glance down, suddenly hyper-aware of the dull ache in my arm. When I twist it to look, my stomach drops.
There's a dark and oddly shaped bruise that I swear wasn't there last night.What the hell?
“Oh, that's nothing.” I quickly force out a laugh, letting my arm fall back to my side like it’s no big deal. Because it’s not. And the last thing I want to do is make something out of nothing.
But my luck sucks. So naturally, that’s the exact moment Rachel and Cam decide to walk back into the room.
Rachel’s eyes immediately lock onto mine, and then my arm.
“Is that from last night?Holy shit,” she blurts, walking over and grabbing my wrist before I can move. She turns my arm gently, looking at the bruise.
I shrug. “It’s not a big deal.”
Wrong choice of words.
